Phototypographical font plate and grid plate



Nov. '14, 196-1 w. ,o. GRUBE I PHOTOTYPOGRAPHICAL FONT PLATE AND GRID PLATE Filed May 27, 1954- ZSheets-Sheet 1 llllllllll IIIIII'IIII H IF'IIII INVENTOR. fl azmw/va d 'eaa:

WK a W ATTORNEYS Nov. 14, 1961 w. o. GRUBE 3,008,391

PHOTOTYPOGRAPHICAL FONT PLATE AND GRID PLATE Filed May 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

| I I I l hunllunlmuhlmlumhnul eroim i I 33 lllllll IIIIIIHIIIII Nah I I ll I lllll N J lllllllllllllllilllllIll] SPOINT I lnnllnmlnlnllnll wPoiNT {T 'llllllllllllllllllll12FOiNT mm l|||||||m|l11|1|| 14Poim Ill 1 l l 1 l 1 I 1 l 1 l IGPOINT INVENTOR- BYMM W ATTORNEKS ate 3,608,391 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 3,008,391 PHQTOTYPOGRAPHICAL FONT PLATE AND GRID PLATE Wolfgang 0. Grube, Bergenfield, N.J., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Filed May 27, 1954, Ser. No. 432,757 2 Claims. (Cl. 95-45) This invention is directed to a font plate for a phototypographical machine such as that disclosed in copending application Serial No. 419,012 filed March 26, 1954 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. More particularly, the invention relates to an arrangement of the characters on the font plate whereby they may be photo-graphed in proper side by side relationship for text composition.

In carrying out the invention according to a preferred arrangement, the area of the plate on which the characters are located is divided into a number of unit areas, corresponding in number to the number of characters comprising the font. In each area there is defined an em square, the center of which will be the optical axis of the optical system of the phototypographical machine with respect to the character to be inscribed within the particular em square. The square is marked by a number of divisions or unit spaces which will be based on typographical considerations. Under proposed typography, the em will comprise twelve unit spaces and each character will have a characteristic width of so many unit spaces. It is to be understood that an em of any number of units may be utilized.

In each character area, and to serve as a means of locating the character therein with respect to its optical axis, is a pair of reference lines, that is, a right hand bearing line and a Z line. The right hand bearing line coincides with the leading edge of a character and it is from this line that the set width of the character is measured. The Z line is simply the base line of the characters and below which character descenders extend.

The entire area of the character array is divided as by a vertical median line, to one side of which are located the upper case letters and other characters represented by shif position keys, and to the other side of which are located the lower case letters and other characters represented by unshift position keys.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the description which follows:

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the font plate as viewed from the light source side thereof and showing the relative location of the characters thereon;

FIG. 2 is a segmental view of the font plate showing the location of representative characters in the em square;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an optical system of a phototypographical machine showing the transmission of a character image from the font plate to the film;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation showing the side by side photographing of selected characters; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the correlation between the point size of the photographed image and the markings of a grid plate used to facilitate text composition.

In composing text matter in a phototypographical machine, photographing of each successive character takes place after there has been a relative displacement of the film and optical system sufiicient to insure that the photographed character will be properly letterspaced from the preceding photographed character. To this end, each character is assigned a characteristic set width value which is determined in accordance with typographical considerations. Furthermore, each character is located with respect to reference coordinates which are constant in the machine for all characters.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a plate 10 on which the characters or character images 11 of the font are inscribed. Although the characters are positively represented for clarity, that is, opaque characters on a transparent background, the preferred embodiment has transparent characters and an opaque background. Although certain characters are represented on the plate, it is of course understood that any desired characters may be provided depending on the text matter which is to be reproduced in the machine. It will be further understood that the characters represented on the font plate correspond with finger keys of a keyboard unit upon which the photographed text matter is originally composed, e.g., the keyboard unit disclosed in ccpending application Serial No. 422,526 filed April 12, 1954, now Patent No. 2,816,609, and assigned to the assignee of the present application. In this keyboard unit, each finger key represents two characters, one when operated in conjunction with the shift key and the other when independently operated. The former may be regarded as a character in the shift position, whereas the latter will be designated as a character in the unshift position.

The characters represented in the left-hand portion of font plate It} (FIG. 1) correspond with finger keys operated in the shift position and are therefore designated shift characters. The characters represented in the right-hand portion of the font plate similarly correspond with the finger keys operated in the unshift position and are therefore designated unshift characters. Characters which are symmetrical to the median line 9 are represented on the same finger key of the keyboard unit. Thus, the character 1 (one) and the character if will correspond with the identical finger key actuated in the shift and unshift position, respectively. As a further example, the character N and the character n are identified with the same finger key, again when operated in the shift and unshift position, respectively. Although the location of the characters has been described with reference to a two position keyboard for definition purposes, the font plate may also be used in a machine in which the original composition is accomplished on a dual keyboard, i.e. one in which each character has its own finger key.

The character areas 12 have been arranged to form a square pattern 17 with the corners removed inasmuch as the plate is to be positioned before a circular optical lens which is to encompass all of the characters simultaneously. At the center of each character area is a point 13 which represents the optical axis of the lens system for the character within that particular area, the character being located in an em square. Through each character area passes an imaginary right hand bearing line 14 and an imaginary Z line 15, which lines serve as reference coordinates for locating the characters within their own areas. As is seen in FIG. 2, the right hand bearing line 14- does not coincide with the boundary line 16 of the em square but is spaced therefrom. In this manner, proper letterspacing of successively photographed characters is facilitated, as will hereafter be seen. The Z line 15 coincides with the base line of the various characters and below which character descenders, if any, extend.

Having established such a coordinate system, the location of the characters with respect thereto can be fixed. Each of the characters will have the base thereof coincide with the Z line 15 and the right-most point thereof coincide with the bearing line 14. Thus, if a character has a characteristic width of five unit spaces, its right edge will coincide with the bearing line and its left edge will coincide with an imaginary vertical line passing through the fifth unit space marking. As a further example, a

seven unit space character will have its right edge correspend with the bearing line and its left edge with an imaginary line passing through the seventh unit space marking. When the characters are photographed, the right edge becomes the leading edge and the left edge the trailing edge.

FIG. 3 shows schematically the transposition which a font character makes as it is exposed and passes through a lens system to be imaged on film. This system is completely described in the aforementioned patent application Serial No. 419,012. Light from a source 26 passes through a character, here assumed to be the upper case F, thence through an intermediate lens (not shown), imaging lens 21, point size lenses 22 and 23, after which the light strikes mirror 24 and is deflected through projection lens 25 to film 26 where the image of the exposed character is recorded. For text composition, mirror 24 is mounted on a carriage 27 to image successively exposed characters in side by side relationship. The amount of carriage movement is measured by a grid plate 28 which is carried past and continually interrups the light beam from a light source 2% to a photocell unit 29. During composition of a line, the carriage moves in the direction shown by the arrow and the character images will appear on the film in the same direction. As shown the film will be positive wrong reading, i.e. the characters will be opaque on a clear background and they will be recorded backwards, from right to left.

The control means for photographing the characters is such that to photograph a six unit character, the character will be imaged on the film after the carriage has moved six unit spaces as measured by the grid plate 28 as it is carried past the photoelectric unit 29. An eight unit character will be photographed after the carriage has moved eight unit spaces. Inasmuch as the carriage is translated from right to left and then the character photographed, the reference line 14 coincides with the leading edge of the character image on the film. FIG. 4 shows the successive photographing of three characters, one having a characteristic width of twelve units, the second having a characteristic width of four units and the remaining one having a characteristic width of eight units. It is clear that each time a character is exposed, the entire em square in which the character is located is exposed, and that the character is located within the em square so that it is properly letterspaced from preceding photographed character images.

FIG. is a schematic representation which will aid in understanding the relationship between the font of characters and the grid plate 28, or more specifically the grid plate markings, for photographing images of varying point sizes. The character designated 3ft represents the character as it appears on the font plate. The concentric em squares 31 represent images of em squares of various point sizes as they would appear on the film 26. The character in the innermost em square represents a six point filmed image of font character 3%. Progressing outwardly therefrom, the em squares are for eight point, nine point, ten point, twelve point, fourteen point, and sixteen point images, respectively. Below the representation of the em squares, there is a plurality of series of lines 32 illustrating the markings on the grid plate 28 which measure the amount of carriage travel and control the photographing of exposed images. Each series of lines is marked with its corresponding point size. The spacing between successive marks in any particular series of lines is equal to the unit spacing of the em square of the point size image which is filmed and for which the series of lines is provided. To the left of the grid plate markings is schematically shown a light beam from the light source 29 to the photocell unit 29 which is the starting or reference point past which the carriage travels during composition of a line. Thus, if the reproduced image is to be eight point, the single series of lines marked eight point will interrupt the light beam. If the filmed image is to be 4- twelve point, the series of lines marked twelve point will interrupt the light beam. As explained in application Serial No. 419,012, above identified, the photocell unit 29 may be adjusted vertically to cooperate with any selected series of marks according to the setting of the point size lenses 22 and 23.

In the preferred embodiment, the various characters are disposed about the optical axis of the system so that all four quadrants of the lens system are used. Therefore, any enlargement which occurs during photographing of a character takes place radially from the optical axis. This is desirable inasmuch as it is economical with regard to light requirements which vary as the square of the lens area utilized. In addition, it establishes the optical axis as a reference point. The consequence of this arrangement is that the grid marking lines are staggered, as shown in H6. 5, for the various point sizes. It will be noted that the grid plate sixth unit space markings for all point sizes fall in the same vertical line. In the twelve unit system disclosed, this marking corresponds to the center of the em square which has been shown to coincide with the optical axis. Thus, with the arrangement shown, a right hand margin will be maintained regardless of the point size of the characters being reproduced on film.

If, in order to obtain base alignment, the optical axis ere made to coincide with the lower left hand corner (FIG. 2) of the em square, the first grid markings of the various point size scales would not be staggered as shown in FIG. 5 but would be vertically aligned. This would, of course, follow from what has just been said above inasmuch as the markings corresponding to the optical axis for the various point size scales will appear in vertical alignment. In the system supposed, the first marking (rather than the sixth as in the preferred system) would correspond with the optical axis.

it is not intended to set forth all the variations that may be made, but it is contemplated that many of the features of the invention disclosed may be carried out in other ways and that many widely different embodimerits of the invention can be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if line composition is to take place from left to right, rather than right to left as illustrated, the font plate 10 and grid plate 28 will be reversed. t is therefore intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a phototypographical machine, the combination of an array of type characters each having a characteristic width which is a multiple of a typographical em unit, a light sensitive film, means for projecting the type characters, one after another, onto the film for line composition, said film and projecting means being movable one relative to the other in effecting line composition, and means for measuring each unit distance of travel of the line composing movement and transmitting such measurement to a control unit for the character projection, said means including a pulse generating grid plate formed with a series of opaque markings to interrupt a light beam from a light source to a photocell unit and partaking of the line composing movement, said markings being spaced apart at a distance corresponding to the width value of the aforesaid typographical em unit, characterized in that the grid plate is formed with a plurality of series of opaque markings, one series for each different point size of type characters to be photographed, and the spacing of said markings in the different series varying according to point size, and characterized further in that the start-of-line positions of the different series of opaque markings also vary according to point size.

2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein certain opaque markings in the different series are located 6 in vertical alignment, said certain markings being those 1,812,276 Uher June 30, 1931 which measure the first one-half em distance of 'travel 1,893,158 Chireix Jan. 3, 1933 from the stant-o-f-l-ine positinn, 1,9 7, P eppelm ier Jan- 193 2,585,188 Taylor Feb. 12, 1952 References Cited in the file of this patent 5 2,682,814 Higonnet July 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 975,689 Greenwood Nov. 15, 1910 394,335 Great Britain June 21, 1933 1,237,239 Bunnell Aug. 14, 1917 826,134 France Dec. 27, 1937 

